Going Under
by luv2write89
Summary: Body washes up on Crandon Beach inside a specially crafted steel box. The investigation soon begins to show a disturbing pictureThe victims are buried alive under water. As team closes in on perp, one of them goes missing&a race begins to find them
1. Chapter 1

The man pushed the throttle forwards on his boat, sending it leaping forwards as it smashed head long into the waves, cutting through them with ease as he continued on his path, the warmth of the Miami sunshine beating down upon his head.

After a half an hour of driving the boat, he eased off the throttle as the put the boat into neutral, letting it continue to run as he looked around the ocean and saw that he was all alone, as usual.

He then looked over at the woman who was sitting slumped over in the passenger's seat, a cold smile on his face as he stood up and walked over to her and in one quick move, slung her over his right shoulder.

To him, she weighed nothing as he was extremely fit, biceps bulging from the sleeves of the black t-shirt he had on.

He then walked over to the ladder as he climbed down from the first deck of the three story boat to bottom deck.

He was careful not to jostle her too much on the way down the stairs, her long blonde hair brushing against his back as he reached the bottom deck and turned around to see the large, long steel casket he had created as it was resting on the platform at the back of the boat.

It was like a casket in the sense that this was what would most likely be her final resting place but the similarities stopped after that.

It was basically a large, long steel box that he had created, seven feet length wise by four feet wide.

It stood at about three feet tall and the steel he had used made it four inches thick. He had carefully constructed the casket, ensuring that water would not seep into his creation.

He switched the unconscious woman from over his shoulder so that he was carrying her in his arms as he bent down and lowered her into the steel box.

He had lined the inside with plush lining, somewhat like a coffin to confuse them when they woke up. . .they'd think they were buried in a casket underground but what they didn't know is that they'd be trapped fifty feet underwater.

Smiling at that thought, he turned around as he looked at the two E-Ox Model 680 Personal Emergency Oxygen systems, with large tank oxygen regulators, gages, shutoff valves, tubing and breathing masks.

He grabbed them and placed them by the woman's feet as he turned around and grabbed the React Oxygen Conserver and placed it inside as well. The React Oxygen Conserver would add extra hours onto the time that the women would remain underwater.

He had also placed a walkie-talkie inside the casket along with some batteries so that he'd be able to contact them. He'd already turned it on so that when they woke up, he could hear them. . .

Humming a tune to himself, he turned around as he looked at the covering for the casket. It was a simple steel door, about three inches thick as he had created a window at the top of the door, reinforced with very thick glass.

The window was a small, circular window that he had placed a cover over, ensuring that when they woke up, it would be completely dark and that once he contacted them, then he'd reveal to them where they were and he'd listen to their screams as they realized they were underwater.

He continued humming his tune as he lifted the steel door up, straining with the weight as he turned around and placed it over top of the casket, covering up the woman. Now all that was left would be to weld the lid to the rest of the box.

He turned around once more and grabbed his welding mask as it slipped it over his head and he set to work on welding the lid closed.

A few minutes later, it was done and he carefully put his equipment away as he turned his attention back to the casket.

Everything was ready as he leaned forwards and slid the covering off of the window as he looked in at the woman, who was still unconscious.

"Don't worry. . ..you won't feel a thing." He said, a twisted smiled on his face as he shut the cover and looked at the ocean in front of him, the turquoise blue water sparkling as the sun shone down on it.

He dropped down onto his knees, placing his hands against the side of the casket and he pushed as hard as he could, straining against it, using all of his muscles.

Slowly the casket moved towards the edge of the boat as he continued to push, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

The casket moved inch by inch until it was hovering over the edge and with one final push, he watched as it teetered on the edge and then fell over with a resounding splash as he grinned, watching as it floated for a few seconds before it sank quickly and he stood up and headed back into the boat to wait for the fun to begin. . .


	2. Chapter 2

CSI Miami

Chapter Two

Going Under

Read and Review please! Feedback is always welcome. . .Keep in mind that some things may not be represented in all actuality. . .it is CSI after all. . .I'm just writing it as I see it. . . :) Thanks. . .

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A few days later. . .

The grey CSI Hummer pulled into the parking lot of the Crandon Beach as the parking lot was emptying out fast, families and couples hurrying to their vehicles.

It pulled into a parking spot as it came to a quick stop, people staring at it as the driver and passenger's side doors opened simultaniously.

Ryan stepped out of the driver's side as Natalia stepped out of the passenger's side and they closed the doors behind them.

"It's really clearing out. . ." Natalia commented as the two of them headed to the back of the Hummer, Ryan reaching it first as he opened the back door.

"Dead bodies tend to empty out beaches Natalia." Ryan said as he grabbed his kit and turned his head to look at her, the trademark patented smirk of his on his face as she rolled her eyes and grabbed her kit as well.

"Hey, watch it buddy otherwise the body on the beach will be getting some company." She said as she leaned out and Ryan closed the door behind them.

"Alright, alright. . . let's just focus on one body at a time. . .Besides, you wouldn't want to kill me. . it would wind up being too much work for you when the team finds me. . ." He said smiling as they walked alongside each other towards the beach, kits in hand.

"That's true. . .but who says they'd ever find you?" Natalia said in a low voice, looking gravely serious as he hesitated, stopping for a moment as the smile slowly faded off his face before she broke out in laughter as she gently shoved his shoulder with her palm.

"Funny. . .that's. . .that's real funny Natalia." Ryan said with a grin as she shrugged.

"I thought so. . .don't push me Wolfe, I could do it. . ." She said teasingly as they'd reached the sand, looking ahead of them as there was a flurry of activity by the water.

Four posts had been set up as crime scene tape ran around them, forming a large square.

A uniformed Miami-Dade officer was standing in front of the tape, hands folded in front of him.

Frank Tripp stood off to the right of the roped off area, talking to a group of four men that appeared to be fishermen.

Inside the crime scene tape lay a large steel box as a young woman was kneeling down beside it and Ryan's eyebrows furrowed.

"Hey, who's that?" He asked Natalia as he nodded his head towards the woman and Natalia stopped walking as she turned to look at him as he turned to look at her.

"Seriously Ryan? She's the new M.E., weren't you paying attention when Horatio told us?" She said, amusement in her tone as he scoffed.

"Uh of course I was paying attention. . .it's just that we've gone through like what? Twenty medical examiners since. . .well, anyways no one's stayed yet so everyone's names have just kinda blurred together." Ryan said defensively.

"Yeah, that's true. . .it's too bad. . ever since Tara left, we haven't been able to keep one. I still can't get over what she did." Natalia said, shaking her head as Ryan felt a little guilt rise up as he remembered Tara pleading with him to not tell Horatio, but he'd had no other choice. He'd given her a warning before reporting her. . .he'd given her a chance but she hadn't taken it and was now spending time in jail. He knew it was the right thing to do but he still couldn't help feeling bad for having to do that to Tara.

"Yeah. . .too bad. . so, about the new M.E.'s name? Can you help me out?" Ryan asked as they started to walk again as she shook her head sideways

"You my friend are on your own. . .besides, she'll probably introduce herself." Natalia said as the reached the tape.

"Morning. . ." She said to the officer as she pulled out her badge and showed it to him as he nodded his head and lifted the tape.

She ducked under it, Ryan showing his badge as well as he was right behind her.

They slowly approached the strange, large metal casket that lay in front of them as the M.E. looked up at her as she stood up, a smile on her face as she extended her hand towards them.

"Hi. . Dr. Katy Hamilton. . .pleasure to meet you." She said, a hint of a British accent lingering in her voice as Ryan set down his kit quickly and took her hand in his as he looked her over.

She was strikingly pretty and young. . .late twenties to early thirties he was guessing

She stood at around five nine and had a trim, athletic build, wearing black dress pants matched with a purple blouse.

She had dark, straight black hair that had been tied back neatly into a ponytail as her bangs were pinned back. She had dark green eyes that were partially hidden behind a stylish pair of black thick rimmed glasses.

Her face was darkly tanned from the sun, a nice natural tan, and her smile revealed rows of perfectly straight teeth as she had a friendly look to her as Ryan snapped out of his trance as he smiled back at her.

"Hi. . .uh . .CSI Ryan Wolfe. . ." Ryan said hastily as he could almost feel Natalia rolling her eyes behind him as she stepped forwards and extended her hand, Dr. Hamilton removing her hand from his as she shook Natalia's.

"CSI Natalia Boa Vista. What have we got?" She asked as the three of them turned their attention towards the box on the ground.

It appeared to be seven feet by four and was made almost entirely out of steel as Ryan noted the small window at the top of the box.

"Take a look for yourselves. . ." Dr. Hamilton said as Ryan leaned over, peering into the small window.

"I don't see. . ." He began but she leaned down and drew back a covering on the window as Ryan leapt backwards, startled as his stomach lurched, Natalia making a disgusted face.

"That's absolutely disgusting." She said as they stared at a grotesquely bloated human face pressed up against the glass.

"It is rather. . .disturbing but until we get this box open, I'm afraid I won't be able to tell you much more." Dr. Hamilton said.

"How do you suggest we proceed?" Ryan asked.

"I think the best option is to take this back to the lab. I've got proper equipment at the lab to open it with as the lid has been welded shut." She said.

"Alright. . .I'll just take some pictures before we move it." He said as he set his kit down on the ground and grabbed his camera.

"I'll go talk to Tripp and the fishermen. See what I can find out." Natalia said as Ryan nodded and she turned and walked towards Tripp.

As she ducked under the crime scene tape, she picked up a little piece of the conversation as she continued to make her way forwards.

"Do I look stupid to you gentlemen? Like I've got the word idiot tattooed across my forehead? Look you boneheads, we can either do this here or I can drag your asses back to the department. See how much fishing you can get done there."

A smile tugged at the corner of Natalia's mouth as she heard Frank's familiar drawl, using his usual tact as he talked to the witnesses.

"Hey Frank. . ." She called out as he turned to face her and he gave her a brief, polite smile before getting back to business, a scowl on his face.

"Hey Natalia. Maybe you'll have better luck explaining to these lunkheads here why they can't just climb back on their boat and get on with their day." He said as she looked at the four men who were looking her over, having lost all interest in Tripp.

"Well now that she's here, we can stay all day now, can't we boys?" A man with a heavy New Jersey accent stepped forwards as he was looking her up and down, a grin on his face. He was tall and heavy set, his grin revealing missing teeth. He had long, scraggy grey hair and was wearing a pair of plastic yellow overalls with a white t-shirt underneath, black rubber boots on his feet.

"Natalia. . this here Romeo's Mike Kessel." Tripp said.

"Nice to meet ya babe. This here's Davey. . ." Mike nodded at a short, robust guy behind him that had black hair and a baseball cap covering his head, wearing the same yellow overalls as he tipped his hat in greeting.

". . .this is Pete. . ." Mike continued as a tall, lanky man with messy brown hair smiled at Natalia, wearing a pair of yellow plastic overalls as the other two men.

"And this here's Ross. . ." Mike finished as a tall, muscular man with cropped blonde hair and wearing a tight black shirt underneath a pair of orange plastic overalls stepped forwards.

"Nice to meet ya. . ." He said, his voice low and rumbling as Natalia gave him a fleeting smile.

"Likewise. . .so, what can you guys tell me about the body?" Natalia asked.

"Well, like I told super trooper over here. . ." Mike began.

"Watch it pal. . ." Tripp snapped at him.

"Okay. . .like I was saying, we just went out to fish this morning. We put our nets down and somehow we dragged that thing out of the water. . .miracle it didn't break the damn nets." Mike said.

"So why didn't you call the cops when you saw the body?" She asked.

"Well, thing is ma'm, we couldn't see inside the thing and didn't really make an effort to. . we just figured we could do something with the steel and the four of us were carrying the thing across the beach when it fell and that cover thing opened and then. . .we saw_ it_ through the window." Ross said.

"I've never seen anything more disgusting in my life." Pete said.

"So now that we told you our story, can we go? This has already set us behind. . ." Mike said.

"Sorry fellas but it looks like you're going to be done fishing for awhile. We're going to need to check out your boat and get you to show us where you found the body." Natalia said apologetically as Mike shrugged his shoulders, a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth as he looked Natalia over from head to toe before looking up at her face.

"That's alright, I can think. . ." He began but trailed off when he saw Natalia subtly shift her hand from her right hip to the butt end of her gun that was in the holster, attached to her hip as she smiled at him brightly.

" Now what was that you were saying Mr. Kessel?" She asked cheerfully as he swallowed thickly.

"Nothing ma'm. . ." He said hastily as she looked at Frank, who had a smirk on his face.

"Great. Well then, I'm going to go back to the lab with Ryan and Dr. Hamilton. I'll see if Calleigh and Eric can come out here and look around the boat. Maybe Eric can go diving around where the body was found." She said as Frank nodded.

"Sounds good to me. . .alright fella's, let's go . ." Frank barked at them as Natalia turned and headed back towards where Ryan was as he looked her way, watching as she ducked under the tape and made her way over.

"Hey, so what's the story?" Ryan asked as she quickly recapped what had happened.

"Are so are we finished here?" Natalia asked as he nodded.

"Yeah just finished up. Alright, let's get everything back to the lab. . ."


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the short chapter, but hope you enjoy! Working on posting more as soon as I can! Reviews are always welcomed. . .

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Back at the lab. . .

Ryan and Natalia walked up the set of stairs that led into the crime lab as Ryan held open the door for her and they walked inside.

Once inside, they saw Horatio standing a few feet away by the reception desk as he looked up at them and they walked over.

"H, can we talk to you for a minute?" Ryan asked him as Horatio nodded, placing his hands on his hips as he looked at the two of them.

"What's . . . going on?" He asked.

"It's this case. I think we're going to need everyone's help on it H. The victim was found inside a sealed metal casket that had been buried underwater and it looks like she was drowned inside the casket. We're going to need someone to go to the site where the casket was found, see if there's any other evidence and for that we need a diver." Ryan explained.

"Which means you need Eric." Horatio said as Natalia nodded her head.

"Yeah, I mean he's the best diver this lab has and. . .and this case is different Horatio. . .these victims are being buried under water. . .it's horrible. The quicker we find whoever is doing this the better." Natalia said grimly as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Agreed. . .Eric and Calleigh will go out to where the casket was found. Miss Boa Vista, you and Ryan check out the boat it was found on and I will help Dr. Hamilton with the body." Horatio said as Ryan and Natalia nodded.

"What's the location where the body was found?" Horatio asked as Natalia relayed it to him.

"Alright. . .let's go. . ." He said as Ryan and Natalia turned around and walked away, heading for the exit. . .

A few minutes later. . .

"Eric." Eric turned around to see Horatio coming walking towards him and he met him half way.

"H, what's going on?" Eric asked.

"Eric, I'm going to need you to go on a dive. You've heard about the case Mr. Wolfe and Miss Boa Vista are working on?" He asked as Eric nodded.

"Well now you and Calleigh are working on it too." Horatio said firmly.

"Sure thing H but why are we helping them out with this?" Eric asked.

"Whoever's doing this. . .is burying people underwater Eric and we need to find them quickly before there's more victims." Horatio said as Eric nodded.

"Alright, I'll grab Calleigh and my gear and we'll head out there. Where are we going ?" Eric asked him as Horatio gave him the location.

"Alright. . .we'll head out there right away. Check in with you later H." Eric said as Horatio nodded as Eric turned around and walked away to find Calleigh. . .


	4. Chapter 4

Meanwhile at Crandon Beach. . .

Ryan and Natalia exited the Hummer as they once again made their way across the beach but this time they headed towards the boardwalk which led to the Crandon Marina.

"Think we'll find anything on the boat?" Ryan asked as Natalia shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm hoping so. . .if we could find something that ends up incriminating one of the fishermen that would be great but right now, I'm just glad Horatio agreed with us and got everyone involved in this case." Natalia said as they stepped onto the dock of the marina and headed down towards the boats.

"Yeah. . hopefully we can stop this guy before we end up finding another body." Ryan said as they looked ahead to see Frank standing at the end of the main dock as it branched out, splitting off into a long, thin walkway as boats were lined up on either side of the walkway.

Mike Kessel was standing next to Frank as Natalia grimaced slightly.

"Oh great. . ." She muttered as they got closer.

"What?" Ryan asked curiously as he looked from Frank to the fisherman.

"Never mind it's nothing. Just a fisherman guy I ran into earlier . . .hey Frank." Natalia called out as Frank turned to look at them.

"Hey guys. . .Mikey boy here's gunna show you to the boat." Frank said as Mike smiled at Ryan and then looked at Natalia, his smile wavering as he quickly turned away.

"Follow me. . ." Mike said hastily as he took off down the first walkway off the main dock as Ryan and Natalia followed him.

"What did you do to this guy? He's really moving." Ryan muttered under his breath to her as she looked over to see him smirking again.

"This is not funny. . ." She scolded him.

"Did he try to hit on you or something?" Ryan asked, smirking as he looked at her as she didn't answer, refusing to meet his gaze as he let out a laugh.

"He did, didn't he! You left this part out when you were filling me in earlier.. . . " He said as he looked at her more closely and she picked up the pace.

"And you did something about it. . . What did you do?" He asked in a prodding tone.

"Nothing! I just . . managed to persuade him to back down. . ." She said defensively.

"You put your hand on your gun, didn't you?" Ryan asked, a full grin on his face now as she looked at him guiltily.

"I know, I know I shouldn't have but this guy. . ." She began but Mike had stopped ahead of them and she shut up as they caught up with him.

He turned around to face them as he gestured at a boat that was docked to the right of them.

"This is it. . ." He said as they turned to face the boat.

It was an older model fishing trawler, about 76 feet in length as they exchanged a look.

"Well, we won't be going anywhere anytime soon." She said.

"Good. . .means you have more time to explain what happened." Ryan said in a low voice so that Mike couldn't overhead him as he then looked at Mike, giving him a big smile.

" Thanks Mike." Ryan said as Mike just nodded his head and quickly headed back down the dock.

"Oh no. . .there's nothing else to say, really it was not that big of a deal. . .now come on. . let's see what we can find." Natalia said as they both climbed aboard.

A few hours later. . .

"I've got nothing. . ." Ryan said in frustration as he was standing at the stern of the trawler, looking at the empty deck in front of him as he placed his hands on his hips.

Natalia suddenly emerged from the inside of the trawler, looking tired and frustrated as well.

"Yeah, me either. . .I really thought one of the fishermen might have been hiding something. . ." She said as she walked over to him.

"Well it looks like they were telling the truth. Let's just hope Calleigh and Eric had better luck then we did." Ryan said as she nodded in agreement.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone, thanks for the great reviews please keep them coming! All the terms I used in this chapter are accurate as far as I can tell but if i've missed anything, let me know!

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Somewhere in the Atlantic. . .

Calleigh stood at the helm of the grey Miami Dade Police dive boat that they had borrowed from the Underwater Recovery Unit as she glanced down at the G.P.S.

It showed that they would arrive at the location of the primary crime scene any minute now and so she eased off on the throttle, slowing the boat down.

"Are we there?" Eric's voice called out from behind her as she turned her head to look at him as he stood a few feet behind her, facing her.

He had just gotten into his ankle-length wet suit as she could see that he hadn't done up the zipper at the back just yet.

"Just about." She said as she turned her head back around.

A few seconds later, she pulled back on the throttle as she placed the boat into neutral and she turned around and walked over to Eric, who was working on zipping up the back of his wetsuit.

"Here, I've got it." Calleigh said as he turned around and she walked up behind him, taking the zipper as she quickly finished zipping it up for him.

"Thanks." Eric said as he turned around to face her and she gently placed her hands on his chest as she looked up into his face.

"No problem. . .besides, I like the wetsuit. . I think it's kinda sexy." She said with a smile as he laughed and placed his hands on her waist as he looked down at her.

"Alright. . as much as I would love to finish this conversation I think that we should actually get to work before we both become too distracted." He said with a grin as she let out an exaggerated sigh and reluctantly slid her hands off of his chest.

"You're right. Is there anything else I can help you with?" She offered as Eric looked to his right at his pile of diving equipment lying at his feet.

"Uh. . .yeah actually. Can you attach the yoke fitting of the first stage regulator to the oxygen tank?" He asked her as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow as he smiled and beckoned her over as she walked around him, the two of them kneeling on the ground as he showed her what to do.

He made a mental note to himself to take Calleigh diving after this case and show her the basics.

As Calleigh was attaching the yoke fitting, Eric grabbed his diving hood and pulled it on over his head as he adjusted it.

"There. . .done. . ." Calleigh said as she stood up and took a step backwards as Eric grabbed the oxygen tank and attached it to his BCD jacket as he checked over the gages, making sure everything was in working order.

"Great. I just need to get this on." He said as she helped him to lift up the jacket, holding it up as he slid his arms into it, buckling it up as the front as he turned around to face her.

"Alright. . ." He bent down and picked up his flippers, sliding them on his feet as Calleigh watched him.

He then grabbed his face mask and he put it on, resting it on the top of his head.

"I'm just going to slide into the water first. Can you hand me the camera once I'm in?" Eric asked her as she nodded.

"Yeah, sure." She said as he walked over to the side of the rigid inflatable hull as he sat down on it, one leg in the water, the other inside of the boat.

He swung his right leg over so that they were now both on the water as he was sitting on the ledge.

Sliding his face mask on, Eric quickly slid into the water, barely making a noise as he turned around to face Calleigh.

"Here's the camera." She said as she handed him the Canon 5D Mark II with the Aquatic 5D Mark II Underwater Housing.

Eric took it from her as he placed it in his left hand as he grabbed for his regulator in his right hand, placing it in his mouth as he looked up at Calleigh from the water.

"Be careful." She warned as he nodded and gave her the okay sign before he disappeared underneath the water. . .

An hour later. . .

Calleigh was looking out at the ocean to her left when a sudden movement to the right of her caught her attention as she turned her head to the right to see Eric treading water as he removed his regulator and looked up at her.

"I got something. . ." Eric said, swimming over to the side of the boat as she walked over to him and he handed her the camera and then an evidence bag that contained what she thought was a small torch of some kind.

He then climbed aboard and proceeded to remove his mask, hood, jacket and then fins as Calleigh was examining what he had found

"What is this?" She asked curiously as he took the bag from her.

"This is a PVL cutting torch and the smaller piece inside the bag is the ignition device. The PVL is designed for cutting underwater and that ignition piece can ignite the torch underwater." Eric said as he stood there, water dripping off of him as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Really . . .where did you find it?" She asked.

"It was hiding underneath of some sand. ..almost missed it. I didn't see it the first time around but when I went back over the area more closely, I moved some sand around and saw it." Eric said.

"So this thing can cut through steel underwater?" Calleigh asked as he nodded.

"Oh yeah, easily. Our guy could have accidentally knocked it over board when he was pushing the casket in." Eric offered.

"Or it could explain why there was all that water in the casket." Calleigh said.

"Either way, hopefully it will make more sense when we bring it back to the lab and see what Ryan, Natalia and Horatio found." Eric said as Calleigh nodded in agreement.


End file.
